Texas Politicians Have More Campaign Cash On Hand Than Donald Trump

AUSTIN, TX -- After the eye-opening details of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign finance report became widely available on Tuesday, it didn't take long for political pundits to put its paltry numbers into perspective.

First, a recap: According to Federal Election Commission documents released June 20, Trump -- the self-described billionaire who initially boasted he'd self-fund his campaign from his considerable wealth -- has $1.3 million cash on hand to run his campaign.

That's not a typo, but just over one million, with an "m." And that's a one-point-three in front of it.

His Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, has some $42 million in her campaign coffers by comparison. GOP also-ran Mitt Romney had a $76.8 million political war chest at this point in 2012 when he ran for president.

If those comparisons aren't enough to yield perspective on the discrepancy in funding between the two candidates, a report by the Texas Tribune offers further accessible context. There are Texas politicians who aren't even running for office at the moment who have more money on hand than does Trump -- fourteen current elected officials and three outgoing ones.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has 17 times more cash on hand than Trump, the Tribune reported. Democratic Houston Sen. John Whitmire had five times more in his account than the reality-star-turned-politician.

Business Insider expands on the issue, adding its own bit of perspective. Two former GOP presidential candidates who dropped out of the race -- Ted Cruz and Ben Carson -- each still have more cash on hand than does Trump, even while not running. Cruz, who exited the race on May 3, has about $6.8 million left over to Trump's $1.3 million. For his part, Carson, who dropped out of the race in March, has about $1.7 million in unused campaign funds.

Putting a positive spin on it, Trump posited the small amount in his coffers as something of a metaphor, "...leaner and more efficient, like the government should be," he explained. Perhaps, but it's hard to reconcile the coffers calculus from politicians in just one state, Texas, compared to the balance sheets of a campaign for the most powerful position in the free world.

The Texas Tribune turned to the Texas Ethics Commission to examine campaign reports of Texas politicians and political PACs for comparisons to Trump's $1.3 million filing. Here's what they found:

• Texans for Greg Abbott had $22,470,112 as of 12/31/15
• Texans for Joe Straus, $8,010,792 as of 2/20/16
• Texans for Dan Patrick, $7,832,161, 2/20/16
• John Whitmire, $6,625,684, 12/31/15
• Friends of Susan Combs, $5,001,529, 12/31/15
• Glenn Hegar Jr., $3,206,751, 12/31/15
• George P. Bush, $3,005,492, 12/31/15
• Ken Paxton, $2,527,974, 12/31/15
• Rodney Ellis, $2,151,567, 12/31/15
• Todd Hunter, $1,815,633, 12/31/15
• Kel Seliger, $1,458,637, 12/31/15
• Royce West, $1,449,770, 12/31/15
• Kevin Eltife, $1,404,799, 12/31/15
• Kirk Watson, $1,384,990, 12/31/15
• [Troy] Fraser for Texas Senate, $1,364,789, 12/31/15
• Jane Nelson, $1,345,306, 12/31/15
• Christi Craddick, $1,331,927, 12/31/15

Members of the Republic Party -- some already rattled over the prospect of a Trump presidential nomination -- were reportedly alarmed at the filing showing the low amount of cash, further addled knowing it comes after a $2.2 million loan Trump himself contributed to the campaign.

The New York Times categorized the figures as the "worst financial and organizational disadvantage of any major party nominee in recent history." The Times also detailed reported expenses incurred by the Trumpcampaign that might give his fellow Republicans further pause: Some $2.7 million paid to at least seven companies owned by Trump or to people who work for his business empire, as repayment for services provided to his campaign.

According to the Times report, the biggest Trump campaign expenditures included $423,000 paid for use of Trump's own Florida resort, the Mar-a-Lago Club; another $350,000 paid to TAG Air for his private airplanes; $125,000 to Trump Restaurants; more than $170,000 to the Trump Tower skyscraper that serves as the campaign's Manhattan headquarters.

Additionally, the wine business owned by Eric Trump, the billionaire's son, was reimbursed $1,300.